J Korean Med Sci.  2005 Feb;20(1):98-104. 10.3346/jkms.2005.20.1.98.

RET/PTC and CK19 Expression in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Its Clinicopathologic Correlation

• Shin E
• Chung WY
• Yang WI
• Park CS
• Hong SW

• KMID: 1781734
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2005.20.1.98

Abstract

Recently, the rearrangement of RET proto-oncogene has been reported to be the most common genetic change in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, its prevalence has been reported variably and its relation to clinical outcome has been controversial. The characteristic nuclear features of PTC usually render the diagnosis, but problem arises with equivocal cytologic features that are present focally. Although there remains some controversy, CK19 has been reported to be a useful ancillary tool for diagnosis of PTC. To evaluate the expression rate of RET/PTC rearrangement and CK19 in PTCs in a Korean population, we studied 115 papillary thyroid carcinomas in 3 mm-core tissue microarray based immunohistochemical analysis. The prevalence of Ret protein expression was 62.6% and the CK19 immunoreactivity was 80.9%. There was no statistically significant asso-ciation between the Ret positivity and CK19 immunoreactivity, although the percent agreement of the two was relatively high. The clinicopathological variables did not correlate with the expression of Ret. In conclusion, the prevalence of Ret protein expression and its clinicopathological implications in a Korean population are not much different from those reported in previous studies. However, its detection via immunohistochemistry can be a useful diagnostic tool for diagnosing papillary thyroid carcinoma in conjunction with CK19.

Keyword

Thyroid Neoplasms; Proto-oncogene Proteins Ret; Keratin; Korea; Immunohistochemistry; Protein Array Analysis

MeSH Terms

Adenocarcinoma, Papillary/*metabolism
Adult
Carcinoma/pathology
Cell Line, Tumor
Cytoplasm/metabolism
Female
Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Keratin/*biosynthesis
Korea
Lymphatic Metastasis
Male
Middle Aged
Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
Oncogene Proteins/*biosynthesis
Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/*biosynthesis
Thyroid Neoplasms/*metabolism/pathology

Figure

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  Fig. 1 (A) 4-µm section of tissue microarray stained with H&E, showing 3 mm cores of papillary thyroid carcinomas and matched normal thyroid tissues. (B) Immunohistochemical stain for Ret antibody. (C) Immunohistochemical stain for CK19.

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  Fig. 2 H&E sections of papillary carcinomas and normal thyroid tissue in the tissue microarray. (A) Papillary carcinoma showing papillary structure (×200) and (B) unequivocal nuclear features (×400). (C) Normal thyroid tissue (×100).

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  Fig. 3 (A) Diffuse cytoplasmic staining of the Ret antibody in the tumor tissue (×200). (B) No immunoreactivity in the matched normal thyroid tissue (×100).

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  Fig. 4 (A) Diffuse cytoplasmic staining of the tumor cells for CK19 (×200). (B) No immunoreactivity in the matched normal thyroid tissue (×100).

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